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New Diabetes Remedy: Putting a Stop to Insulin Deterioration

Diabetes is caused by an inability to regulate blood glucose that over time can cause life-threatening deteriorations of multiple organ systems. Due to this, diabetes is often difficult to treat. Diabetes is diagnosed by testing blood glucose levels, which are significantly higher in diabetes patients than in the general population. Basic treatments include medications, following a specific diet, and an exercise routine.

Research surrounding diabetes is advancing and new treatments are making headway around the globe. Investigators at Harvard, for instance, have come up with a new therapy for diabetes.

The two lead researchers David Liu, professor of chemistry and chemical biology, and Alan Saghatelian, associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, uncovered a new compound that stops the function of the insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE).

The Harvard Gazette reported that blocking IDE in animal models increased insulin levels and improved insulin signaling pathways. It is predicted that this new compound may be used to enhance glucose tolerance in diabetes patients.

The researchers explain that insulin-based diabetes treatments were missing a key part, “the ability to regulate the degradation of insulin.” In order to find the compound that prevents the degradation of insulin, the researchers used DNA-templated synthesis. This method attaches a DNA sequence to the building blocks of the molecule to bind to a correlative piece of DNA.

At least 14,000 DNA templates were used to find the compound that would work with IDE and regulate insulin degradation. The researchers also found out more information on the way IDE functions in the human body.

Another major improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes is the development of the first clinical diabetes registry. The Medical Xpress publication reported that a number of organizations have worked together on the Diabetes Collaborative Registry, which aims to track and enhance the quality of care available for patients within this specialty.

This registry will help illustrate the progression, management, and outcomes of patients that receive various treatments for diabetes. The Diabetes Collaborative Registry is based off of the PINNACLE Registry, a major ambulatory cardiovascular record. It includes the diabetes patients that are part of the PINNACLE Registry.

“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among people with diabetes, and there is a clear need for cross-specialty management of diabetes patients,” American College of Cardiology President Dr. Patrick T. O’Gara told the news source. “By consolidating patient data, this registry will allow primary care physicians and specialists who treat patients with diabetes to compare data and access real-time metrics on patients in all stages of the disease.”

This new registry will use much of the same technology to obtain patient data from electronic medical records that was gathered by cardiologists, primary care physicians, diabetes specialists, and endocrinologists. It is hoped that this new registry will allow doctors to analyze data as well as develop better treatments and outcomes for diabetes patients.